Author Archives: R.L. Bynum

After following similar path to women’s lacrosse Final Four, UNC ready to flip the script

he similarities to last season continue for a Carolina women’s lacrosse team that’s ready to flip the script. Just like last season, the Tar Heels beat Stony Brook to enter the Final Four undefeated, No. 1-ranked and No. 1 seeded, taking a 20-game unbeaten streak into a national semifinal against a team they defeated handily at home. In both cases, that earlier win was on March 6. A year ago, Boston College, which UNC blew out 21–9 in March, ousted the Tar Heels 11–10 in the semifinals on its way to a national championship. A year later, to the day, of that early-season win over BC, Carolina rolled over Northwestern by a similar score of 20–9.More

Forbes leaned on Hubert Davis when UNC was struggling; baseball now on similar roll

If you’ve watched Carolina’s baseball team emerge from weeks of struggles to finish the regular season with three consecutive ACC series wins and thought that its season trajectory reminds you of the Tar Heels’ men’s basketball team, you aren’t the only one. For Coach Hubert Davis’ basketball team, the low points were the back-to-back road losses to Miami and Wake Forest and the stunning home loss to Pittsburgh. For Coach Scott Forbes’ baseball team, it was losing five consecutive league series before the exam break. They’ve both noticed the similarities. Both rebounded after dealing with early-season criticism of them and their players.More

UNC takes plenty of momentum into postseason after 11–0 win, sweep of FSU

CHAPEL HILL — The expectations are suddenly rocketing up for a Carolina baseball team that is putting it all together at the right time. From Angel Zarate’s first-pitch home run in the first inning, the Tar Heels were in command, combining timely hitting, productive outs, solid defense and good pitching to earn an 11–0 senior-day victory Saturday over Florida State at Boshamer Stadium for their first ACC shutout of the season.More

Love’s huge Final Four 3-pointer against Duke immortalized

CHAPEL HILL — Carolina fans will forever remember Caleb Love’s huge 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in Carolina’s Final Four victory over Duke at the Superdome in New Orleans, and now it’s immortalized in the Carolina Basketball Museum. On the half-court in the main part of the museum, there are markers for the biggest shots in program history. Logically, one was added for Love’s 3-pointer over the outstretched left hand of Blue Devils center Mark Williams. That shot was massive as he scored 28 points in beating Duke 81–77 to end Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career with a loss.More

Tar Heels in NBA: Bullock’s career playoff highs in points and 3s aren’t enough as Mavs fall again at Golden State

Reggie Bullock scored a career playoff-high 21 points on Friday night but they weren’t enough as the Dallas Mavericks fell behind 2–0 in their Western Conference finals series with the Golden State Warriors. Bullock notched a career playoff-high six 3-pointers in the Mavericks’ 126–117 loss Friday as he put up a 15.4 game score, the second-best of his playoff career. That is topped only by his 15.4 in a 19-point, seven-rebound effort in Game 6 of the series in the last round against the Phoenix Suns.More

UNC continue post-exam surge to NCAA berth with romp, third straight ACC series win

CHAPEL HILL — If you are going to battle North Carolina’s baseball team, it’s best to do it before the exam break. The Tar Heels, for the second straight season, have gone from a team unlikely to make the NCAA tournament field before exams to earning high marks with the selection committee. After losing five consecutive ACC series before the break, the Tar Heels defeated Florida State 10–4 on Friday night to clinch their third successive league series and put them in a good position for a postseason berth.More

No. 1 UNC rallies by Stony Brook again to earn 13th Final Four berth

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina is back in the women’s lacrosse Final Four but, for the second consecutive season, Stony Brook and its vexing zone defense didn’t make it easy. Just like in last year’s quarterfinals, the undefeated, No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Tar Heels (20–0) had to rally against the Seawolves to keep their season alive. UNC rebounded from the lowest-scoring half of the season (three first-half goals) and used a four-goal second-half run to advance Thursday at Dorrance Field. The Tar Heels’ 8–5 NCAA tournament quarterfinal victory over the No. 7-ranked Seawolves (16–3) was their 33rd consecutive home win.More

UNC No. 1 seed in ESPN men’s projection but not top overall seed

The latest sign that expectations for Carolina’s men’s basketball season are going to be sky-high is ESPN’s bracket projection for next season.
Such projections in May are, of course, ridiculous, but Joe Lunardi sees the Tar Heels as the No. 1 seed in the East. Under that scenario, UNC would play in Greensboro for the first two rounds and at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.More

Unbeaten UNC has been here before but is in different place

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina women’s lacrosse stars have been here before — undefeated, top-ranked, No. 1 seed and in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. The Tar Heels (18–0) are in the same situation as a year ago, facing Stony Brook at Dorrance Field with a Final Four berth on the line. But five-time All-America attacker Jamie Ortega says that they are in a different place as they prepare to play the No. 8-ranked Seawolves (16–2) at 7:30 Thursday night (ESPNU).More

Tar Heels in NBA: Bullock is +44, advances to first conference finals but Johnson’s season ends

For the first time in his career, Reggie Bullock will play in a conference finals series, which means that Cameron Johnson will be denied a second consecutive trip to the Western Conference finals. In one of the most improbable beatdowns in the history of NBA Game 7s, the visiting Dallas Mavericks rolled to a 123–90 victory over the Phoenix Suns, who had the best regular-season record in the league, to win the series 4–3.More